June Whole 30: Halfway There! **Giveaway

Yes! The title is not fooling you. We’ve made it to the halfway point and what an amazing feat that is. I thought the halfway point would be a great place to stop and say YAY! We are doing this. Plus, I want to check in and see how everyone is feeling and give my own testimony to the Whole30 thus far.

The first week was rough! I had insane headaches and just felt like I wasn’t going to last. I’m sure most of you felt the same way. I was sluggish and just plain cranky. I really wanted sweets and anything I couldn’t have. Right before the first week end mark, I cheated. Don’t worry, I didn’t cheat with food but I did cheat with my scale. I was down 6 lbs the first week. 6 LBS. Is that even possible? But honestly, that cheating gave me the push I needed to pursue on. I started searching for recipes so I could actually start making meals instead of just having a piece of meat with a side of vegetables. You can follow our PSMB Whole 30 Recipe Board on Pinterest at Peach State Moms Blog.

There are a few things I’ve learned in doing this Whole30.

#1. EVERYTHING has sugar in it. EVERYTHING. I have realized a couple times that I have been eating a banned food. I bought banned nitrate free bacon, sausages, lunch meat and balsamic vinegar. I know now to check my labels like CRAZY.

#2. This is extremely difficult if you don’t cook a lot. Being a single mama right now, I find it incredibly difficult to always find time to cook. But this diet requires it. You can’t always just grab and go. In a way it’s kinda nice because I’m spending more time doing something I love but less time with my children.

#3. They don’t lie when they say you will feel great. You really do. I roll out of bed with a ton of energy that lasts all day into the night. I am falling asleep faster and sleeping more sound. My workout performance has gotten better and I sweat more, which is a good thing!

#4 Sugar will mess with your brain big time. I could eat a whole meal and be stuffed so that I couldn’t even move and still I would think, I need a cookie, ice cream, whatever. I think you really learn the psychological effects food has on you!

Rachel, here at Peach State Moms, had this to say about her Whole30 experience thus far:

Going into this whole Whole 30 thing, I had no intentions of taking it too seriously. I am not one for fad diets or the next cool thing. I have been an employee of Weight Watchers for 5 years so I already eat pretty well. Recently though, I have been feeling very stagnant so when Ashley said she was going to do the Whole 30, I was intrigued. Long story short, 13 days later, I feel great. I am satisfied physically and am realizing that so much of my ‘hunger’ is actually just cravings for foods that are sooooo not good for me. The only times I have wanted to cheat (but resisted) are times when I have been more emotionally unstable. Which lucky for me hasn’t happened too much in 13 days. At this point, I have no doubt that I’ll make it the entire 30 days without straying from the plan.

Finally before I leave you to tackle the LAST half of your Whole 30, I just wanted to remind you about the giveaway! we talked about it my last post! We are giving away the awesome book “It Starts With Food” by Melissa and Dallas Hartwig, a gift card to Fresh Market, and a bag of Bob’s Red Mill Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (a necessity for anyone doing Whole30, YUM!).

Enjoy and finish out your Whole30 strong! You got this and you are already half way finished 🙂